Self-efficacy is an important variable that is characterized by a significant value in contemporary psychological research, and its definition may be easily explained with the help of the children’s story under the title “Little Engine That Could”. The little engine from the story was “smaller and weaker than the others”, but it “kept insisting that it could pull the train” (Johnston, 20003, p.259). The little engine never gave up, and eventually, he succeeded. This story illustrates the term “self-efficacy”, which was introduced by Bandura who formulated it as follows: “self-efficacy” is the “confidence in our ability to produce the outcomes we desire” (Smith and Mackie, 2000, p. 145). One more assumption that will be necessary for this paper is a commonly known statement: a man is a social creature, as he lives in the multidimensional social world, which consists of the social worlds of family, work, and school. Thus, the purpose of this paper may be defined in the following way: to show the interrelation of my social worlds and to prove that my self-efficacy is of crucial importance for them.
First of all, I should find the ties between the main social worlds where I exist. I believe that for every woman the family world is the central sphere. So it is has been with me, and so it is not, and so it will be in the future, but the difference between my social world of family is still evident, and these differences are mainly caused by my social world of school. The important thing to be stressed is that originally the latter appeared due to the first. What I mean, is that my mother was the person who once made my husband promise that sooner or later I would continue my education. The choice of my major was also caused by the social world of family and my surrounding. I understood that it was my calling to become a counselor for troops returning home, as I live among such people and know the situation from the inside.
Besides, looking back at my unconventional childhood, I understand that my social world of work is sure to be useful for my family, as it is maybe helpful for my husband and children to have a private counselor at home. And, on the contrary, my life experience helps me to find my bearings in my profession, as it helps me to establish connection between theory and practice. What is more, the variety of the occupations I have had in my life also contributes to my life experience that may be helpful for my children, when they start thinking about their future careers.
Speaking about self-efficacy, I should mention that in my particular case it is at the center of all changes, which occur in my life. Due to it, I have survived at school, where I was considered an outcast. When I had the trauma, that could ruin my life and the world of my family, it was the combination of my self-efficacy and my husband’s support, that kept me going. Due to my belief in my strength, I became a student at the age of forty, and this is not an easy decision, I should say. This is the way how my self-efficacy affects my social world.
Concluding, I should say, that nowadays my social worlds, which I have analyzed in the essay, function as a whole, making an impression of machine parts, which function successfully only if they work together. However, every machine should have a certain driving force. In my case, my self-efficacy is this driving force that makes my existence successful and happy and provides me with new opportunities in life.
Reference
Johnston, J.E. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Psychology. (2003). Indiapolis : Alpha Books.
Eliot, R.S., & Mackie, D.M. (2000). Social Psychology. Philadelphia: Psychology Press.